Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

On the third night, Xu Damao broke into the He family again and said, "Zhu Zi, good news! Today at the steel rolling mill, Jia Dongxu was beaten up by three workers."

My dad told me that it was Liu Haizhong who ordered it. Two of the three workers who beat up Jia Dongxu were workers whom Liu Haizhong had taught technical skills to before.

It's normal for them to stand up for Liu Haizhong and beat up Jia Dongxu. Fights in the factory are nothing serious unless they're really serious, and nobody cares about them.

This time, the three men clearly intended to humiliate Jia Dongxu, beating him until his face was a mess. Anyone who saw it could tell he had been beaten up without losing a single tooth; they weren't there to actually attack him.

My father also said that because of his connections, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were allowed into the military control commission, and they haven't given him an explanation.

Not only did he get a beating for nothing this time, but now even the experienced steel mill workers are unwilling to take him on as an apprentice. Jia Dongxu has messed things up. "Xu Damao is still happy."

"At the steel rolling mill, Jia Dongxu had no one to teach him the skills, which was a big deal, as it affected his salary after he completed his apprenticeship."

Without experienced mentors to guide him in studying old equipment, Jia Dongxu's fitter skills will be difficult to improve, or at least won't improve very quickly.

"This is much better. Almost a year has been wasted. How good can his skills be? The lower the salary, the better. There are no good people in the Jia family."

"The salary isn't high, but that's for the best."

"Zhu Zi, I heard you say before that you wanted to go back to work at the steel rolling mill in a few years, that working in the factory was more comfortable. Do you still want to go back to the steel rolling mill now?" Xu Damao asked.

"There's something going on at the steel rolling mill, so I'm not going back to work there for the time being. There's no one to teach me the skills at the mill, but I have a mentor at the restaurant."

Being a cook requires skill, and I think it's important to improve one's skills. Factory cooks work with large pots of food, so learning new skills is very difficult.

"I need to master my skills so I can work at the steel rolling mill. The managers can't possibly treat me like an apprentice and expect me to be paid an apprentice's salary."

"My mother said that because of the importance of the steel rolling mill, the higher-ups had always wanted to invest in it and open a factory together with Lou Bancheng."

Since the beginning of 51, due to the war, the proposal had been made, but Lou Bancheng did not agree because it was an ancestral business.

The people above him didn't force him; they've been persuading him to agree for a year now.

Lou Bancheng probably felt that he would not be able to keep the family business sooner or later, so he agreed to invest in the steel rolling mill before the Chinese New Year.

A few days ago, someone came to Lou Bancheng's house, and they discussed the expansion project together.

The expansion began in May, with a planned timeframe of one year to increase the number of employees in the steel rolling mill from over 800 to over 2,000.

They didn't hide it from anyone, that's how my mom found out about it, and that's why I told you. It's a good idea for you to learn the skills and go back to the steel rolling mill; at least the salary will be higher.

He Yuzhu was not surprised by the expansion of the steel rolling mill. The mill had fewer than a thousand workers at the time, but by 65 it would be a large factory with tens of thousands of workers. Expansion was impossible.

I just wanted to invest; I never expected that the higher-ups would attach so much importance to the steel rolling mill.

Considering that when the country was founded in 1949, crude steel production was only 15.8 tons, but rose to 61 tons in 1950, it is only natural to attach importance to steel rolling mills.

The quantity of steel is an indicator of a country's industry, especially during wartime.

The large-scale "public-private partnership" that would only appear at the end of 55 already had a precedent in 52 at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. Was it following the example of Northeast China? Or was the higher-ups paying too much attention to it?

"There's still a year left. I might go, but it doesn't matter if I don't. They will definitely expand the steel rolling mill. With more workers, there will be more cooks."

Learning the skills is the priority; it's okay to go two years later. Thank you, Damao, for telling me this.

"It's a small matter, don't worry about it. But you guessed right, the higher-ups have high expectations for the steel mill, and it will continue to expand until they are satisfied."

"That's for the best. At most three years, I'll definitely go back to work at the steel rolling mill."

"Three years later, you go back to work at the steel rolling mill, while I'm in high school. Time is passing so slowly. If I were in college, my working hours would be even longer."

"Going to university will make you more respected by others, and you'll earn a higher salary if you work in a factory. It's a win-win situation."

If you want to go to university, then stick to your studies in school, just like I stuck to learning a skill at the restaurant.

"I'm determined to go to university. It's no big deal to stick with it for a few more years. I'll go back first."

He Yuzhu had already calculated the time to return to the steel rolling mill and had no intention of changing it. There were less than three years left, or at most two years, and nothing major was happening above.

In addition to learning culinary skills, He Yuzhu also read books, including the first volume of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong," in order to improve his various abilities.

In terms of professional skills, there are still too few books available; we'll have to wait a few more years. If He Yuzhu had studied this hard in his previous life, he might have gotten into a 985 university instead of a 211.

.......

Less than fifteen days after being hospitalized, Jia Zhangshi actually returned to the courtyard house with Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu.

The doctor in the story is amazing; He Yuzhu is ashamed of himself. He suffered a fractured sternum and minor internal bleeding, and was able to return home after fourteen days.

The medical skills of the 1950s were so amazing that it was a bit unsettling. If Jia Zhangshi was like this, what will happen to Bang Geng in the future?

Jia Zhangshi's nasal bridge was still wrapped with gauze, presumably to stabilize her nose, but otherwise she was the same as a normal person.

Upon returning home, seeing a large hole in the gate that had been boarded up, and windows that had also been boarded up, Jia Zhangshi was filled with anger and cold.

Her nose wasn't fully healed yet, so she could only mutter a few curses under her breath. At home, she was going to have another gloomy birthday; she'd had enough of celebrating in the front yard.

For three consecutive nights after Jia Zhangshi returned home, there were "bang bang bang" sounds coming from the wooden boards on the door and windows, which were made by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

Yi Zhonghai, through Tan Guilan, told He Yuzhu that they had warned Jia Zhangshi that it would only last three nights, and asked for her forgiveness. It was still before eleven o'clock, and He Yuzhu was still awake.

Dealing with Jia Zhangshi was the right move!

He Yuzhu didn't see Jia Zhangshi being discharged from the hospital with his own eyes; he only heard about it from Tan Guilan when she came to his door that evening.

Neither the brother nor sister cared. He Yushui had already looked down on Jia Zhangshi and wanted to beat up Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu.

"Brother, this is a drawing of the two of us. Isn't it better than the drawing from half a year ago?" He Yushui handed over a drawing.

He Yuzhu glanced at it a few times and thought it looked much better than the one from six months ago. At least his face wasn't a mess anymore, and he looked somewhat like a normal person.

"The raindrops are well drawn. To draw them even better, you need to work harder. You don't need to draw them every day; just be focused each time you draw."

"Yes, brother, I will try my best. I draw twice a week now, and I spend the rest of my time studying other subjects. Studying and practicing martial arts are the most important things, and I'm also studying medicine."

"You can't neglect your schoolwork and martial arts training; you can manage your time for the other two yourself."

"I can. Brother, it's so difficult to identify Chinese medicinal herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine; there are just too many kinds."

Learning traditional Chinese medicine is like your studies. You're only in first grade, so it doesn't seem difficult yet, but there will be challenges later.

There's so much to memorize when learning Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can learn slowly, memorizing a few things a week; you don't need to memorize them all at once. It's also okay if you don't want to learn at all.

"I'll learn, but I'll only need to memorize a few different things each week. I still have a long time before I grow up."

"What are you learning? You have to persevere even when there are difficulties, that's how you learn well. If you give up, you won't learn anything."

"I will not give up."

"very good."